A Thousand Manipulatable Inorganic Electron-Counting Problems from Crystallography

Submitted by George Lisensky / Beloit College on Wed, 03/01/2023 - 14:40
Description

One thousand interactive organometallic and coordination complexes have been selected and prepared for practice and discovery in electron counting problems. The structures can be displayed and manipulated without requiring software installation using a web browser with JavaScript and JSmol.

Building Heteronuclear Diatomic MOs

Submitted by Andrea Van Duzor / Chicago State University on Thu, 01/26/2023 - 14:53
Description

A guided inquiry activity for students to build the MO diagram for HF based on energetic and symmetry considerations.  Students then compare their model to a standard MO diagram and examine what additional information a MO diagram conveys that the Lewis structure does not.

Phosphate Reduction by Mechanochemistry (Cummins)

Submitted by Kyle Grice / DePaul University on Fri, 01/13/2023 - 11:15
Description

This Literature Discussion LO was created for the ACS Inorganic Chemistry Award Winners. Dr. Kit Cummins was the recipient of the 2023 Frederick Hawthorne Award in Main Group Inorganic Chemistry. This LO is based on a recent paper from the group of Dr. Cummins, entitled "Sustainable Production of Reduced Phosphorus Compounds: Mechanochemical Hydride Phosphorylation Using Condensed Phosphates as a Route to Phosphite", published in ACS Central Science20228, 332-339.

SLiThEr #42: Our Favorite Labs

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Thu, 11/17/2022 - 08:29
Description

Chip Nataro (Lafayette College) hosts a live discussion covering the favorite labs that people teach. The discussion somewhat evolved into a conversation on "so, you are teaching inorganic lab for the first time...what do you do?"

Nickel-catalyzed Hydrodefluorination

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Wed, 08/24/2022 - 12:29
Description

This paper describes the use of a  catalytic nickel system for the hydrodefluorination of aryl amides. While organofluorine compounds are extremely useful because of their unique properties, there are growing concerns about the impact of these compounds on the environment. Carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely strong, and so getting them to react is a significant challenge for chemists.

Molecular Magnets with Lanthanide Metal-Metal Bonding

Submitted by A. M. Christianson / Bellarmine University on Wed, 08/24/2022 - 11:36
Description

This literature discussion is based on a 2022 Science paper describing a series of dilanthanide complexes with exceptional magnetic properties due to the presence of metal-metal bonding. These molecules are the first reported species to feature direct bonding between two lanthanides! The paper contains ample material for discussion of molecular symmetry and bonding, oxidation states and electron configurations, and magnetism. The handout includes a description, glossary, discussion questions, and pre-class worksheet.

Inorganic Chemistry

Submitted by Abdul K. Mohammed / North Carolina Central University on Tue, 08/23/2022 - 16:51

Hydrogenative Depolymerization of Nylons

Submitted by Chip Nataro / Lafayette College on Tue, 08/23/2022 - 13:46
Description

This paper describes work from the Milstein group in which ruthenium catalysts with pincer ligands are used to depolymerize nylons by breaking the C-N bond and hydrogenating the resulting products to amines and alcohols. Waste plastic is a serious environmental concern that needs a solution. Organometallic chemists put significant effort into finding ways to convert monomers into polymers, and now we must figure out ways to do the reverse.